


you never know what you got till its gone

by Ford_Ye_Fiji



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character studyish?????, Gen, Grunkle Ford Needs A Hug, Grunkle Stan Needs A Hug, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Sadness, Sea Stans, Title is a song lyric, and they get one!, brotherly feels and bonding, coming to the station, hug it out, hug train, hugapolooza, that thing about the babies is true, yaaay!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 11:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10638504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ford_Ye_Fiji/pseuds/Ford_Ye_Fiji
Summary: Ford didn't know what he had till it was gone.He has regrets.





	

Ford sighed, turning in the bed. It was eerily quiet in the house, Ma and Pop having long since gone to bed. Outside an owl hoots and there are a few stray noises, like alley cats, car horns, and muffled voices.

Ford squeezes his eyes shut and groans. He can't sleep. That wasn't a surprise, actually. He could give all sorts of excuses, his dreams had been dashed in one fell swoop, his brother had ruined his life, and now he was simply gone- kicked out of the house and tossed an already packed bag.

He can't get that soft broken voice out of his head, _'High six?_ ' Stanford turned in the bed again, eyes hard as he glared into the darkness at nothing. He didn't miss Stanley. His Pop was right. All Stan had done was ruin his life. However, no matter how many times he repeated that to himself, he didn't feel any better. In fact, he felt worse and worse. Well, no matter how many eventful and life changing things had happened that day, that wasn't the reason he couldn't get his forty winks. Part of it may have been the empty bunk bed below him, but that wasn't truly what bothered the teenager.

It was the fact that, despite all the nighttime noise and the summer crickets, one sound was missing. Not a snore, but the soft huff and puff of Stan's contented quiet way of breathing and shuffling in his sleep while he slept. Now, the bunk below him was empty, still, and ominously silent. It cemented the fact that Stanley was gone.

Ford looked down at his hands, curled under the pillow. Stanley was gone. That was good, Stanley had ruined his life. He didn't want someone toxic like that poisoning all of his chances.

He sniffed and wiped hastily at his eyes. He wasn't going to cry. Stan had done this to himself.

Ford turned in the bed again and knew he wasn't going to be sleeping for a while.

Meanwhile, across the town of Glass Shard Beach, a homeless seventeen year old on the brink of adulthood struggled to hide his tears as he sat on the hood of an old El Dorado and watched a small worn boat bob up and down on the waves as the burning sun rose.

* * *

 

Stanford realized he'd been a bit of an idiot far too late (okay, a lot more than a bit). He shouldn't have punched Stanley when he came out of the portal. Stan had been ready to forgive and forget after forty years, but he'd still held on to that stupid childish grudge. He _really_ shouldn't have decided to kick Stanley out at the end of the summer. That had driven the rift between them even wider. Ford shouldn't have projected all of his problems on a preteen that was definitely a very different and probably better person. When he and Stan had been trapped in the Fearamid, he should've said something to him, but his throat had closed up when Stan tied his bow tie, grumbling about how he couldn't possibly _not_ know how to tie one. He should've said something after that, as he placed the unfamiliar weight of the fez on his head, but Bill had charged in right at that moment. By then, it was too late to say anything at all.

Now he wished he had just taken the plunge and said _something_. _Anything_ , really. No, Stanley had gone to face his death with nothing more than worried glances and questioning touches from his brother, no apologies, no well wishes, not even a hug.

Now, his twin sat in a clearing, fez uncharacteristically crooked as he gazed complacently with no recognition at all at his family. Mabel cried as he and Dipper pulled her back, arms and hands still struggling to cling to her lost Great Uncle.

Ford hadn't realized he'd miss Stanley so much until his mind was long gone, beyond all hope of ever returning and truly knowing his brother once more. Ford took a step forward, eyes wet as he knelt in front of his brother, six fingered hand to his twin's shoulder. Stanford was dimly aware that he was explaining to Mabel why Stan wasn't and wouldn't ever be the same as he was before. He finally, _finally_ , said the words that has been needed all along, voice cracking with the sheer emotion and weight his words held, the meaning entirely lost to his amnesiac twin brother, "You're our hero, Stanley."

Stan did not react in the slightest to his words or the hug.

He had waited too long.

Ford had spoken far too late.

* * *

 

The boat rocked gently up and down on the foamy waves, the ripples moving like fluid blue green glass dotted with specks of white. Stanley sat next to Ford as they watched the stars wink and glitter in the bright expanse like Mabel's flashy sweaters. The Aurora Borealis shimmered and swam in the sky, high above. Stan watched Stanford slowly and meticulously draw star charts and other scientific mumbo jumbo that he could only just get the gist of.

Stan coughed and then asked, breath fogging in the icy air and misting his glasses, "So, uh, Ford. I've been thinking, ya know... And um, well. It's kinda cold out here, innit?"

Ford chuckled, "I did tell you it would be below freezing, didn't I, Stan?"

"Uh, yeah, you... You did. But um..." He scratched the back of his head, his hand going to tug nervously at his burgundy beanie, "Um..."

Ford's brow furrowed with worry, "What is it, Stanley?"

Stan huffed, "I kinda wanted to y'know hug... I mean, you know, I didn't really get to respond back when I didn't have any memories bumping around in here." He knocked on the side of his head.

His brother's brow furrowed in a sort of fond confusion and Stan felt his stomach drop, "Never mind. It... It was a pretty stupid idea anyway."

Ford's mouth opened in a 'O' that usually signified his important scientific breakthroughs. He smiled with amusement and put an arm around his brother's shoulders, "Stanley, it wasn't stupid. It's a well known fact that humans are creatures with needs, or more specifically in this case, physical comfort. In fact young babies have actually died when they didn't get the physical affection they needed."

Now it was Stan's turn to be confused.

Ford laughed, "Come here, Stanley, I'd love a hug. Besides, Mabel did prescribe us at least several hugs a day for maximum healthiness."

Stan nodded, face brightening, "Yeah... Wouldn't, wouldn't want us to be unhealthy, now, huh Poindexter."

They pulled each other close, in a warm and overdue hug. Ford had long since regarded the form of hugging as a lie. After all, Stan had pulled him close many times only to betray him in the end by breaking his science project. A hug was just another way to hide your face. He didn't think that anymore. Now, he saw it as a way to express the depth of his love for his brother without having to use words.

But words were important and it was necessary to communicate verbally, even if it was unspoken yet understood. Another thought entered his head after that, and he blurted it out, "Thank you, Stan. For everything."

Stanley gripped him tighter, "Anytime, Sixer, anytime."

And all was well.

Maybe Ford had spoken too late before, held onto stupid age old grudges for a ridiculous period of time, and scorned all chances of expressing forgiveness and thankfulness until his brother was long gone, but sometimes you were given second chances, and sometimes you weren't too late.


End file.
